Renewable energy Your questions answered 02 03 Climate crisis: Final energy Time for an energy revolution supply, UK / 2006 renewables 1% other 3% nuclear 3% coal 6% Climate change is the most urgent environmental threat facing natural gas 38% people and the planet. The greenhouse gases responsible for it petroleum 49% come from human activity. The most important of these gases is carbon dioxide (CO2) which is pushing up average temperatures at the Earth’s surface, leading to more severe weather events – floods, droughts and storms, as well as rising sea levels and Final energy use, disruption to entire eco-systems. The impact on people across UK / 2006 the world could be catastrophic if we don’t act soon. To avoid dangerous changes to our climate we must curb electricity 18% rising global emissions of CO within the next decade. As well heating 48% 2 transport 34% as doing everything we can to save energy and use it more efficiently, we need to switch to forms of energy that do not produce CO2 – and there are plenty of them. Renewable energy comes from sources that don’t run out Source: BERR – like the sun, wind, tides, waves or plants. These natural sources can be harnessed to create electricity without adding carbon dioxide to the air. The UK has signed a Europe-wide agreement to get 20 per cent of all energy (not just electricity but heat and transport fuel too) from renewables by 2020. The UK’s share of this target is 15 per cent. We have a long way to go to reach this benchmark – in 2006 less than 2 per cent of all UK energy came from renewables. This booklet, adapted from a chapter of Friends of the Earth’s How can I Stop Climate Change? (Collins, 2008) looks at the vital role these cleaner energy technologies will play in turning Britain into a thriving, progressive low-carbon economy. We focus on where renewables have the best potential – to clean We consume energy in Britain for three main uses: up the way we produce electricity and heat. heating, electricity and transport fuel. Most – over 90 per cent – of this energy still comes from gas, oil and coal, known as fossil fuels. Contents p06: Section 01: Electricity p06: wind / p10: sun / p14: sea / p18: rivers / p19: biomass / All fossil fuels emit large amounts of carbon p20: cleaning up old electricity plants / p24: nuclear power / dioxide when burned, although there are p26: The electricity grid differences in efficiency: burning coal in a Amelia Collins power station, for example, produces more p28: Section 02: Heating carbon dioxide per unit of useable energy p31: Join the energy revolution than burning petrol in a car. 04 There is no 05 single silver bullet, but many Electricity represents less than a fifth of all the energy we In future we need to get our energy from a mix of different use. But making it produces more than a third of the UK’s sources. Renewables – especially large scale wind, marine total carbon dioxide emissions. That’s why we need to start and solar installations – have lots of potential, and with the by looking at alternative ways of generating electricity. right support could curb our greenhouse gas emissions massively. Sources such as solar hot water, solar electric and How much renewable heat from the ground offer savings to households; and energy could Britain produce? biomass – such as wood – is useful where there is a ready supply of sustainable fuel. All of these could be developed to Top five green With some of the windiest weather in Europe and almost help us make the transition away from fossil fuels. energy technologies 8,000 miles of coastline, the UK is a power house waiting to be switched on. No single source of renewable energy will To make the transition as cleanly as possible we also need to 1 Offshore wind provide for all our needs: visions of the whole of Britain covered improve the way we use fossil fuels – through combined heat 2 Onshore wind in wind turbines, or the coast surrounded by wave machines and power (CHP), more efficient use of fossil fuels, and by 3 Solar (including are fantasy – or scaremongering. But a big, diverse family capturing carbon rather than simply pumping it into the concentrated solar of renewable technologies could help shrink the UK’s carbon atmosphere. Renewable sources will offer benefits including power) footprint drastically. more jobs and better air quality – as well as being kinder to the 4 Sustainable biomass with climate. If the Government gets serious about renewables and combined heat How much would it cost? energy efficiency, Britain doesn’t need to build new dirty power and power stations to keep the lights on. 5 Ground source heat Because many renewables technologies are relatively new Given the available alternatives, what could the UK’s their costs can be high – although technology tends to become energy mix look like in a low-carbon future? cheaper as it matures. Costs can also be affected by factors To meet our European targets 40 per cent or more of our such as location: windy hilltops are better sites for wind farms electricity will need to come from renewable resources. than are sheltered valleys; some stretches of coast offer greater Meeting the Government’s aspiration of 33 GW of offshore wave potential than others. Ironically, one thing that has been wind would provide 25 per cent of electricity demand. One left out of conventional economic assessments of energy is the study suggests that by 2050, small-scale renewable energy at costs of pollution and future climate change impacts. Take those a domestic level could provide 30-40 per cent of the UK’s total into account and renewables start making economic sense, too. electricity needs. Did you know? The Government could make cost a less significant barrier There are many energy options, from local power to Every gigawatt of to renewables. It could, for example, remove some of the imported solar, smart grid electrics or travelling less. No one dirty power replaced with clean green hurdles in developing wind farms, especially offshore, provide solution will cut our emissions enough – it is the package of energy saves up more subsidy for renewables and make it more expensive to solutions that must be embraced if we are to cut them at all. to 1.5 million tonnes pollute. Given the urgent need to tackle climate change, the The choice is ours. of carbon annually. Government should be doing everything in its power to make the shift to clean energy very rapidly. Section 01: 06 07 Electricity Power from wind Five myths about wind turbines Wind turbines work on land (onshore) or in the sea (offshore). Although under-exploited, wind energy is well understood and 1 “Windpower is unreliable and needs backup from other already working hard for the UK. It is one of the most technically sources” Wind can be accurately predicted, giving a clear and economically developed forms of renewable electricity guide to how much power is likely to be available. The generation. National Grid says wind power does not pose a major Britain’s first wind farm, on Orkney, dates back to 1978. problem in balancing the UK’s electricity supply. The first commercial installation started up in 1991 at Delabole 2 “Wind turbines are dangerous for birds” The RSPB in Cornwall, where today 10 turbines provide enough to power says wind farms do not pose a big hazard for birds unless more than 2,000 homes. poorly sited. The RSPB warns that climate change poses In 2006 in the UK, generation from wind exceeded the most serious threat to birds and wildlife and it supports generation from hydro-power for the first time,and became the the development of wind energy. largest renewables technology in terms of electricity generated. 3 “Wind turbines are a blot on the landscape” Public opinion surveys generally show around 80 per cent support for wind energy. Given the choice between a wind farm, a Conventional wind turbine coal-fired power station or a nuclear plant near your home, which would you chose? Rotor blades 4 “Wind farms bring down house prices” Studies show Wind speed and direction monitor that wind farms do not have a long-term effect on local Rotor hub with pitch control system house prices; prices may fall during the planning stage Gear box when there is uncertainty about the development. Electrical control systems and generator Improvements have overcome initial problems with noise, provided the turbines are appropriately located. 5 “It takes more energy to build a wind farm than it will ever generate” According to npower, the average wind farm will pay back the energy used in its manufacture within three to five months of operation. Given an expected lifespan of 20 years, that’s 19 years and seven months of carbon-free energy. Vertical axis wind turbine Electricity: 08 Electricity: 09 from onshore wind from offshore wind What potential does What potential does onshore wind have? offshore wind have? By the end of 2007 there were 169 onshore wind farms With shallow waters and strong winds, the UK has in the UK providing enough electricity for more than 1.4 million potentially the largest offshore wind resource in the world. homes. Projects under construction or with planning permission Some estimates put this at a third of the total offshore would bring generating capacity to nearly 5 per cent of the UK’s potential for Europe – enough electricity to power the UK electricity. several times over.